Problems remain with electronic medical records

8:45 AM,
Jan. 20, 2014

Written by

Kevin Pho

More than half of physicians today use electronic medical records, thanks to the $22 billion the federal government is spending to encourage providers to make the transition from paper.

Supporters of digital records, including President Obama, say they improve patient care and reduce health costs. Now that I have switched to electronic records in my own practice, I wonder whether those claims are really true.

A Rand Corp. survey released last fall found that many doctors were unhappy with their digital record systems, saying they interfered with face-to-face interaction with their ...